Pilot shortage 'not impacting' operations, say RAF

RAF sources said tonight that a shortage of helicopter pilots is not impacting on Afghan operations, despite reports that commanders have said a demand for more helicopters in Afghanistan could not be fully met since there were not enough crews to fly them.

The RAF has 93 trained Chinook pilots, against a requirement for 101, and 64 Merlin pilots against a requirement for 75, according to MoD figures.

But while a shortage of pilots is compounding the problem of a lack of helicopters, it is not by itself having any impact on frontline operations, an RAF source said.

The hugely controversial issue of a lack of helicopter support for British troops in Helmand province arose once more today as Bob Ainsworth, the defence secretary, saw Puma and Merlin helicopters and their crew arrive at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire after six years in Iraq.

The Merlins will be modified before being deployed to Afghanistan and their crew sent for training in the US.

"It will be a big uplift. The aircraft is well-suited", Ainsworth said. However, he added: "You can never have enough equipment, be it helicopters or anything else. The more you can get the better." The Merlins will enable commanders to move troops or equipment by air rather than road, where they are vulnerable to mines and improvised bombs.

Air Commodore Simon Falla, deputy commander of the joint helicopter command, said deciding where the aircraft were most needed was a "delicate balance".

He said that however many helicopters were sent to Afghanistan, troops would still have to use vehicles to get about. "You can't parachute vehicles into the forward operating bases and troops cannot patrol from inside a helicopter," he said.